Eccles Cakes for the Royal Wedding

We've been keeping so busy with Easter, Earth Day, building a chicken coop, and the arrival of spring to the back yard, that I hadn't given much thought to the impending royal wedding.

Then last Saturday, over at my in-laws, my sister and I browsed a small stack of magazines dedicated to Will, Kate and big event. The ring! The story! The romance! I fell hard for the whole package.

The next day I bookmarked The Website, followed the Twitter account and even took a peak at the You Tube channel.

It's pretty magical, you have to admit. A prince, struck with tragedy so young, forever in the public eye, now marrying for love.

My mother married a British man nearly 40 years ago, my dear dad. I was delighted when she told me today that she was making her wedding cake again - a traditional English fruitcake- in honour of the royal wedding. She was also planning to rise at 3 am, go over to her sisters (my parents don't have TV) and watch the whole shebang. Mom, you are so cool.

Of course I've done a bit of baking of my own. Buttermik Scones are prepared for tomorrow's breakfast and wedding viewing. Although I'll be playing catch up online. No 3 am wake up for this mama.

If you're looking for an accompaniment to your tea tomorrow, may I suggest Eccles Cakes? Imagine a layer of black currants and sugar pressed between two sheets of puff pastry and baked to a crisp, caramelized delicious morsel. They've been a favorite of mine forever. That British background working its influence on my palate, I guess.

This particular interpretation of a classic British tea-time treat is more of a Canadian version of the original tea cakes of Eccles, England. With only three ingredients it is fast to make and you can easily whip up a batch for afternoon tea. So put the kettle on.


Eccles Cakes

ingredients:

• 1 ½ lbs puff pastry, chilled
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup currants

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Plump currants in hot water 10 minutes, drain and set aside.

Roll chilled dough in a floured surface in to a rectangle 3/16 inch thick. Put aside for a moment while removing all dusting flour. Sprinkle the work surface generously with sugar and continue rolling dough to 1/8 inch thickness.


Trim the piece in to a precise rectangle. Cover half the dough solidly with currants in a single layer. Sprinkle lightly with sugar. Fold the remaining half of the dough over the top of the currants.

Gently press a rolling pin over the entire surface until the black currants show through the sheet of thin dough. The result is a nice speckled appearance.

With a knife or pastry wheel, cut the dough into 2-inch squares and place 1-2 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.

Place in the refrigerator to relax the dough for 25 minutes while the oven heats.


Reheat oven to 375F.

Place the baking sheet in the middle of the oven. When the bottoms have caramelized and are light brown, carefully turn the cakes over and finish baking. ( I forgot to do this step, so my tops are less caramelized.)

Place cakes on rack to cool. Enjoy!

Ed note: excerpts and photos from this post were previously published in October, 2007.

Cabane a Sucre Au Pied de Cochon Part 3: Desserts

You may want to grab some of that leftover Easter chocolate before starting to read this post - or not. Chances are your Cadbury eggs will pale in comparison to this line up of deserts we recently enjoyed at a local sugar shack.

Here are the first two parts of our culinary adventure to bring you up to speed on our outing:

Read Part 1: Appetizers
Read Part 2: Main Courses

Desserts are, as all of you know, my weakness. Desserts featuring maple? Well, let's just say we get along very well.

A little too well, perhaps, but who's counting pancakes??


'Crêpes Grand-Mère', I believed these were called, although I wasn't paying much attention to our server at that point. I'm somewhat of a pancake aficionado, and these were among the best I've had.

Can one really call them pancakes, though? They were deep-fried in duck fat, deliciously hot and crispy and served swimming in maple syrup. Definitely a perfect marriage between pancakes and doughnuts.

Our table polished them off in no time.

I called our server aside to inquire about the house policy on 'seconds', to which she promptly informed me that they don't accommodate. I remained calm, but firm, and managed to convey my deep and utter need for another tray.

Happily, another dish of pancakes arrived shortly in front of me, hot and devastatingly good. (Have I ever called anything 'devastatingly good' on this blog??)


OK, I'm going to get flack for this one, but this is my space, so I can say what I like. This banana split was just so-so. Sure it had banana's (what's local about those?) maple marshmallows (mine are better - just sayin'), some pretty kicking maple ice cream, and maple-glazed nuts, but I wasn't as impressed as some of the other eaters. Go ahead, call me spoiled.


The split's best feature was the maple cotton candy garnish, which was brilliant. I bought some to take home for the boys. Delish!


This was subconsciously what we had all come for: tire à l’érable, or maple taffy. This is a requisite treat for a visit to any sugar shack.


It is rolled up on a popsicle stick from it's bed of crushed ice (packed snow works better) and enjoyed in all it's teeth numbing, sticky sweetness.

(at this point, I almost had to hold onto the table when I stood up. Remember this was our third 'wave' of food. But there was one more...)


My second favorite dessert (pancakes were number one) was the maple mille-feuille, and easily the best of its kind I've ever had. Mille-feuille is a dime a dozen around here, but most of them are disappointing.

Not so here, Au Pied de Cochon's version leaves nothing to be desired, except, perhaps, the residual longing that all mille-feuilles were maple.

Ah, in a perfect world, perhaps.


~Cabane à sucre Au Pied de Cochon: adult $49 CAD, kids from 3 to 12 yrs old $15

Dark Chocolate Caramel Sauce

Click photo to enlarge; do not lick the screen.

It never fails to happen that I entertain guests and forget to serve a dish. Be it a topping, a salad, a finale - something often gets left out.

I probably jinxed myself, when on the day of Mateo's birthday (and the receiving of 40 - yes, FORTY- guests into our home), I said to Danny.

"Remind me to serve the ice cream with the cake. Let's not forget the ice cream."

Yeah, I probably don't have to tell you that the birthday cake was enjoyed sans ice cream. Of course I forgot it in the general mayhem of things and there was enough sweets so the ice cream wasn't missed.

It wasn't until about eleven at night, when we were watching the Olympic closing ceremonies and relaxing with some wine dregs, that we looked at each other and said

"The ice cream!"

Not that there is anything wrong with leftover ice cream, it's just that I had bought So. Much. of it.


Fortunately, I was receiving guests three more times that week (it's kind of an open door around here) and figured I could use up the ice cream that way.

Still, I can't serve just ice cream to guests; that kind of makes me squirm. It's an accompaniment to a dessert, but I didn't have time to make one. I needed a topping.

A quick poll of my Tweeps put me in touch with this recipe faster than you can say 'Sundae'. Robin from Hippo Flambe sent me her caramel chocolate sauce, advising me to 'forget hot fudge sauce' and try her recipe instead.


I'm glad I did, because it's pretty sweeeet. I ate so much of it with a spoon, it's a wonder there was any left for our banana splits that night. It leaves regular chocolate sauce way behind with it's multi-levels of flavor from caramelized sugar and a touch of salt.

You must try this sauce - for ice cream, waffles, crepes, or just drizzled over poached pears.

Head over to Robin's site Hippo Flambe to get the Joy of Cooking recipe for Dark Chocolate Caramel Sauce.

You'll be glad you did, ice cream or no ice cream.

More Marshmallows

Yes, I made marshmallows. I boiled and beat, patted and sliced, and tossed them in toasted coconut.
Yes, they were amazing.
I just picked up ingredients to make another batch, this time with vanilla bean. Danny comes from a long ancestral line of marshmallow aficionados (me not so much), so we're taking this homemade marshmallow step very seriously.

There's the story -and recipe- coming sometime soon. Things have been a little nuts around here, (see my previous post).

This weekend I'm getting ready for Mateo's 2nd birthday and the 45 guests that will join us for the event. The little fellow went through a lot last year and we want to celebrate him and his life.

The menu is still TBD, but one thing I know, there will be hot cocoa with homemade marshmallows.

My Mother's Butter Tarts

I have three siblings, all of whom are terrific cooks, and when we left home I was lucky enough to make off with my mother's handwritten cookbook. We all grew up learning to cook from its stained and tattered pages, so I'm surprised no one kicked up a fuss when I claimed it for my own.

Perhaps none of them know I have it, nevertheless, one of my favorite rainy day pastimes (who am I kidding, those don't exist in 2010) is to leaf through it and remember how we ate as kids - and how I cooked.


There are many favorite recipes, recipes that got me started on this whole gastronomical adventure. How many hundreds of times did I mix up Easy Wheat Pancakes or Quiche Lorraine? Crazy Chocolate Cake was my go-to one bowl chocolate cake for every occasion, while Kate's Never Fail Pastry stood by it's promise every time.

Sometime, I'm going to have to get my act together, scan the entire cookbook and preserve it forever. It's literally in pieces, but that doesn't affect the recipes, nay, they are as good as ever.

Like my mother's butter tarts, for example.

I can't accurately compare them to any other butter tarts, because honestly, I don't eat any other butter tarts but these. Years of disappointment left me wary, as all I encountered were overly sweet and gooey concoctions with no texture to speak of save a stray raisin, and I mean raisin, singular.

These ones are chock full of raisins, coconut, and walnuts, chewy, and yes, a little bit gooey. They are perfection. I don't make my mother's butter tarts nearly often enough because well, Oh My Heck! they are rich and I can't stop eating them even after two or seven. It may be my mother's cookbook, but since I've left home she isn't around anymore to limit my intake!



Butter Tarts

2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup coconut, toasted
2 tablespoons cream
1/2 teaspoon salt

18 2-inch tart shells, or 36 mini, usually the equivalent of two double-crust pies*.



Preheat oven to 350F

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar together until light. Beat in eggs, corn syrup, and vanilla and mix well. Mix in raisins, walnuts, coconut, salt and cream. Combine thoroughly.

Spoon into tart shells and bake until set. 12-15 minutes for mini tarts, 20-22 for large.
Makes 1 1/2 dozen 2 inch tarts.

*And a quick word about those crusts. Your pie dough is your business, whether you like it flaky or crispy, all-butter or all-lard, but please, don't roll it too thick for these tarts. It should complement the filling, not overwhelm it.
If you've ever had a butter tart at a popular coffee chain in Canada, you'll know what I'm talking about when I say TOO THICK. I won't name names, because people love it so much, but I will say that it rhymes with Jim Shmortons.

White Chocolate Tiramisu Trifle with Spiced Pears

We've been enjoying a wonderful, relaxing holiday, interspersed with the occasional lively party, and here we are at New Year's Eve already. I never planned an intentional break from blogging, but between the Christmas festivities and settling into our now home, I hardly touched a computer for days.
Don't worry, I documented the highlights from all the feasting over the last few weeks, and will be bringing them to you without delay!

First up, here is a dessert worthy of a New Year's Eve dessert table: a white chocolate mascarpone mousse layered with white wine poached pears and lady fingers. It's rather regal, standing proudly in a lovely trifle bowl, and the billowing layers of mascarpone mousse & whipped cream topping make it a pretty winter dessert. I'm a huge trifle fan (some people just are or they aren't, so I am discovering) and this version tops the 'decadent' scale with it's addition of creamy mascarpone -yum!- and sophisticated spiced poached pears -yum yum!

It's also a spectacular do-ahead dessert, which we all love, right? I actually spaced out the work and made it over three days, starting with the poached pears on the first day, then the mouse and assembly on the second, and finally, on the third day, added the whipped cream topping and candied ginger just before serving.

The flavors actually improve after spending a night together in the fridge--the only challenge is finding the space! I feel like I've been playing Refrigerator Tetris for the last two weeks, trying to juggle the items in my jam packed fridge so that everything fits. All I can say is, open at your own risk, as some items may have shifted during the flight-er, night!

We are indeed, very blessed to have an abundance of good food. While 2009 was not an easy year for us in many way, we are exceedingly thankful for all that we do have and look forward to 2010 with excitement and anticipation!
I'll be making an announcement early in the year about a new project that I am thrilled to be a part of, so look for that coming soon!!

Have a safe and fun New Year's Eve!


White Chocolate Tiramisu Trifle with Spiced Pears
adapted from Bon Appetit, December 2007; via Ashley of Not Without Salt

Spiced Pears:
1 750-ml bottle dry white wine
2 cups pear juice - I used apple
1 1/4 cups sugar
12 whole green cardamom pods, crushed in resealable plastic bag with mallet
4 1-inch-diameter rounds peeled fresh ginger (each about 1/8 inch thick)
2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
7 large firm but ripe Anjou pears (3 to 31/4 pounds), peeled

White Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse:
7 ounces high-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Perugina), finely chopped
1/3 cup poire Williams (pear brandy) - I used apple liquor
1/4 cup water
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 8- to 8.8-ounce container mascarpone cheese
1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream

Trifle Assembly:
3 3-ounce packages soft ladyfingers, separated
2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream
3-4 candied ginger rounds

For spiced pears:
Combine first 6 ingredients in large saucepan. Stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves. Add pears and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer until pears are just tender when pierced with knife, about 35 minutes. Transfer liquid with pears to large bowl and refrigerate until cold, about 3 hours. Using slotted spoon, transfer pears to plate. Boil poaching liquid in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat until slightly thickened and reduced to generous 1 1/2 cups, about 15 minutes. Strain into 2-cup measuring cup; discard spices in strainer. Cool. Cover and chill pears and pear syrup until cold.

For mousse: Combine white chocolate, pear or apple brandy, and 1/4 cup water in top of double boiler set over simmering water. (You can also do this in the microwave for 30 sec. increments – be very careful not to overheat) Stir until smooth (mixture will be very liquidy). Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; discard bean. Transfer white chocolate mixture to large bowl; gradually add mascarpone, whisking until mixture is smooth. Cool mascarpone mixture until barely lukewarm. Using electric mixer, beat 1 cup cream in medium bowl until peaks form. Fold whipped cream into mascarpone mixture in 4 additions. Cover and chill white chocolate mousse until set, about 3 hours.
DO AHEAD: Pears and mousse can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.


For trifle assembly: Cut pears lengthwise in half and remove cores and stems; cut halves lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Arrange ladyfingers, rounded sides down, in single layer in bottom of 12-cup trifle dish (about 8 inches in diameter and 5 inches deep), covering bottom completely (using about 15 ladyfingers). Drizzle 5 tablespoons pear syrup evenly over ladyfingers. Using small offset spatula, spread 1/3 of white chocolate mousse over ladyfingers, making layer slightly thicker around outer edges of dish to allow mousse to be more visible (center of mousse layer will be thin). Starting at outer edges of dish, place pear slices in single layer with curved edges against sides of dish atop mousse, covering completely. Repeat layering of ladyfingers, syrup, mousse, and pears 2 more times. Cover with fourth layer of ladyfingers (some ladyfingers and pear slices may be left over). Drizzle ladyfingers evenly with 5 tablespoons syrup.
DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead.

Cover and refrigerate trifle and remaining pear syrup separately. Using electric mixer, beat 2 cups whipping cream in large bowl until soft peaks form. Add 1/4 cup pear syrup and beat until stiff peaks form. Working in batches, transfer cream to large pastry bag fitted with large star tip. Pipe rosettes all over top of trifle, mounding slightly in center. Sprinkle with crystallized ginger.
DO AHEAD: Can be made 6 hours ahead. Keep refrigerated.

Cranberry - Vanilla Pavlova

It seems a bit out of character for me to not have complained about the weather yet, so I thought it fitting to say Sheesh! It's cold! We've already had our first snow (not that it lasted) and I have to remember that a corduroy jacket and summery scarf just isn't going to do the job when I go out. Kids don't seem to notice the cold, no matter what they are wearing, but on those long walks and chilly afternoons at the park, I'm reaching for my long underwear. Let It Snow!

What does that have to do with pavlova? Absolutely nothing, but then neither does this little tidbit..

We sold our house!
It looks like we will actually be moved and settled in a new place by Christmas. Joy to the World!

Not quite as joyful is the prospect of packing up this place; can someone please tell me how we managed to accumulate SO much stuff over the past few years?
Thankfully, Megan over at Simple Kids has inspired me to tackle the children's belongings step-by-step with her great series Winterize Within. Hey! Maybe I could wrap a bunch of stuff up and give it away as Christmas gifts. Just a thought.


On to the sweet stuff...
This cranberry- vanilla pavlova was one of my contributions to a lavish Thanksgiving dinner pot-luck we enjoyed with friends a few weekends ago. As I was looking over the photos I had managed to snap despite the chaos of about 25 bodies clamoring for dessert and Noah's meltdown because he WANTED THE BLUE PLATE, I realized this would make a pretty fitting Christmas dessert as well.

It's red & white, with billowing whipped cream that is reminiscent of snow, and cheery cranberries all over. Visually, it scores very high on the festive chart . Defiantly a recipe not limited to just Thanksgiving. Or maybe I'm just looking for an excuse to make it again. It was GOOD!


At the aforementioned diner party, Danny and I had conveniently seated ourselves within arms reach of the desserts. After one slice each of the decadent and very addicting cranberry pavlova, a very interesting conversation occurred over the consumption of the rest of the dessert.

"It's best eaten the day it is made"

"Yeah, we better enjoy another slice or two. You know, to help contribute to the consumption"

"I don't want to take any home."

"No way. It doesn't travel well. Here, just slide another sliver over."

"Serve me some too, it's so light and airy anyway."

"I know, and cranberries are like superfoods, right?"

"Right. Well, there's a bit left, but, you know, it goes all soggy in the fridge if you store it overnight."

"Eww. We wouldn't want that."

and so on and so forth, until, well, I'm a bit embarrassed to disclose what happened after that. You'll just have to make it for yourself and see how fast it disappears.


Cranberry-Vanilla Pavlova

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living, November 2007
Serves 8

FOR THE TOPPING
3 1/3 cups (12 ounces) fresh cranberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 1/2 cups heavy cream


FOR THE PAVLOVA

4 large egg whites, room temperature
1 teaspoon cornstarch
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon white-wine vinegar
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions
1. Make the topping:
Combine cranberries, granulated sugar, and water in a saucepan. Using the tip of a paring knife, scrape vanilla seeds into pan, and toss in pod. Bring to a gentle simmer, and cook until cranberries are soft but have not burst, about 5 minutes. Let cool. Remove vanilla bean. Topping can be covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days.

2. Make the pavlova:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using an overturned bowl or a cake pan as a guide, trace a 10-inch circle onto parchment. Turn parchment over, marked side down.

3. Beat egg whites, cornstarch, salt, and vinegar with a mixer on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add superfine sugar. Raise speed to medium-high, and beat until stiff peaks form, about 7 minutes. Reduce speed to medium, and gradually add confectioners' sugar. Raise speed to medium-high, and beat until very stiff, glossy peaks form, about 7 minutes. Beat in vanilla.

4. Using a rubber spatula or a large spoon, spread meringue into marked 10-inch circle on prepared baking sheet, forming a well in center.

5. Bake until outside is firm and bottom lifts easily off parchment, about 2 hours. (The inside should still be marshmallow soft.) Turn off oven and allow pavlova to remain inside until the oven cools. When cool, carefully remove from parchment. (Pavlova can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.)

6. Before serving, whisk cream until soft peaks form. Place meringue on a platter or cake stand. Spread cream in center of meringue. Spoon topping over cream.

In Love With Berries & Cream Pavlova

See? I wasn't kidding before when I said that I had a parade of desserts coming up. I am trying to make up for those 6 or so pounds that I lost when I was sick. Kidding! I would love if they stayed away--I've got to go shopping for a bathing suit soon and am dreading it. Can't say I'm really trying very hard, though.

All kidding aside, my apologies if this post turns into a sappy love ode to pavlova, but you have to understand just how strongly I feel about this dessert. I hesitated before writing this, because it is probably going to come as close to labeling me as a glutton as I ever want to be; however, you need to know the facts.

This may possibly be the best dessert you'll ever eat.


What is so great about it? You ask. Well, how does a generous base of crisp sugary meringue with a soft marshmallow interior sound? Oh, no that is not all. It is then mounded--no skimping allowed--with velvety whipped cream, topped with fresh berries and lavishly sauced with a vibrant, tangy red raspberry sauce. It's magnificent. It's decadent. It's impossible to stop eating.


This is the kind of dessert that I could fantasize about climbing in to and rolling around. I wish it came in the size of a swimming pool.
Honestly? Two of us ate this whole thing, and I licked my plate. It was amazing.

I'm realizing I have a thing for fresh berries and I'm convinced it comes from my deprived childhood. Living in the Yukon, a frozen northern Canadian province, it was too cold to grow much in the way of berries, and fruit was ridiculously expensive since it had to get trucked half way up the Alaska Highway. Berries have always been like the ultimate luxury and still are to me. If I can enjoy them bathed in cream and presented on meringue, I'm a really happy girl.

A few notes on the recipe:

• I don't sweeten my whipped cream. The meringue is so sweet, it would be overkill, even for a girl with a sweet tooth like me.
• Really, almost any fruit it good on the pavlova. I slice bananas on top of Noah's because he doesn't like strawberries or raspberries (I know, unbelievable. How ironic is it that I longed for fresh berries as a child and he turns up his nose at them.) Nigella dollops passionfruit and lychees on hers.
• The meringue base can keep for up to two days in an airtight container. Mine stayed nice and crisp, although I'm not sure if I would trust in in hot July weather.
• Nigella notes that the meringue can be made ahead and frozen for up to one month. It would never last that long in my freezer, but it's cool to know it works.
  

Berries & Cream Pavlova
adapted from Nigella Lawson's 'Prodigious Pavlova'

Base:
4 egg whites
250g sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vinegar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:
500 ml whipping cream (you'll have leftover for Irish coffees)
about 2 cups of fresh berries or fruit of your choice

Raspberry Coulis:
150 g raspberries (frozen work great)
25 g icing sugar

Preheat oven to 375F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment and using a 9 inch cake tin and a pencil, trace a circle onto the parchment. Whisk the egg whites until satiny peaks form, then whisk in the sugar, a tablespoonful at a time, until the meringue is stiff and shiny.

Sprinkle the cornstarch, vinegar and vanilla over the egg white, and fold in lightly with a metal spoon.

Mound the meringue on to the baking parchment within the circle and, using a spatula, flatten the top and smooth the sides. Put in oven and reduce heat to 325F. Cook for about 50 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave to cool completely. ( I leave mine for several hours)

Store the meringue in an airtight container until ready to serve. When you are ready to assemble and serve the pavlova, invert the cooled meringue disc onto a large plate or a stand and peel off the baking parchment. Whip the cream until thickened but still soft, and pile onto the meringue, spreading it to the edges in a swirly fashion. Dot the top with fresh berries or prepared fruit.

Puree the raspberries and icing sugar in a blender until smooth, (this can be done ahead of time, too) then drizzle the colorful sauce over the top and sides of the pavlova. Serve immediately.

Peach Tart Tatin

Just a quick post today as we are all a-flutter getting ready for Noah's third birthday! There is still a homemade pinata to paint, balloons to blow up, a dozen lemons to squeeze for his favorite drink (lemonade) and most importantly, a cake to decorate. I'm sure I'll be up far into the night icing it-I don't want to start it until he is fast asleep!!
At some point amidst all the busyness, I'm sure I will be shedding a tear or two over the fact that my baby, my firstborn, is growing up. Sniff!

We went for a walk yesterday, a few of Autumn's early fallen leaves crunching under our feet, bundled up in warm sweaters, talking the whole way. At the stop sign he declared:

"A-R-R-E-T. That spells 'Stop'." and I had to laugh. Only in Quebec can things be this confusing for a child.

I had to post this peach tart tatin because it was one of my favorite desserts last month. There's still plenty of gorgeous stone fruits available; it's certainly not too late to make this for yourself. You really need a dessert to dig into as you get comfy on the sofa in the evening and welcome all your favorite TV shows back, right? (Top Chef: where ARE you?)


OK, so I don't have a recipe for this, as I literally just melted some butter, added a sprinkling of brown sugar and the peach halves to the pan. I then dusted the peaches in cinnamon and topped the whole thing with a round of chilled puff pastry. Into the oven it went until the pastry was golden brown.
If you've made an apple tart tatin, you can make this! If not, you might want leave this useless post and check out a real recipe for tart tatin.

That's it!

SHF: Baby Girl Cupcakes and the Giveaway Winner!

First of all, let's not waste any time in announcing the winner of the spice kit from Under the High Chair's second birthday dinner. Rest assured that the selection of the winner was done in a most thorough way, overseen by my husband, the engineer in the family.

Ready?
And the winner is...Jill!!!
Whoot! Whoot! Congratulations!
Jill, please contact me via email with your address and information and I'll get your present out to you as fast as I can!
A big thanks to all who participated and left such great comments! This was the first giveaway I've done, but it certainly won't be the last--it was so much fun to see people popping in from the four corners of the globe...and two hundred comments is such a nice round number for the draw.

And now for some of the most girly-girl cupcakes you will ever see...


My self-appointed mission was as follows: bake cupcakes for two-week-old Amber's baby shower and make them as pink and girly as possible, because with three men in the house, we never get to play with glitter, sprinkles and pink food coloring, let alone even make cupcakes.

Yep, life would be different if I had girls. Oh, it's not that I'm complaining, you've seen my boys and I love them fiercely, but let me put things into perspective for you:

This is the first time homemade cupcakes have been featured on UtHC.

That's right, we just celebrated two years of posts and all this time you have been deprived of cupcakes. Everywhere else, cupcakes are flaunting themselves, blogs are devoted to them, boutiques specialize in them and celebrities crave them. I mean, it's practically the decade of the cupcake and although I've kept you up to date with the best cupcakes in the city, I haven't been baking any myself.

Why such a dearth of the pretty little things? I'm not quite sure, but there must be a reason, and I intend to get to the bottom of it. Is it just because I have no girls to bake with? A husband who demands "Give me a real cake, woman"? (okay, kidding about that last one, he'd get a lot more than real cake if he called me 'woman'.)

Anyway, enough with the introspection, I've finally made some cupcakes and although they came out rather garish (I might even say ghastly), I had a heck of a lot of fun playing on my Pretty in Pink theme.

I was bemused when one girl at the shower turned to me, half eaten cupcake in hand, and said

"So what flavor would you say these were anyway?"

Hmm, good question. Vanilla? Buttermilk? Is pink a flavor?

Here's how I arrived at my final product:
For the cupcake itself, I adapted a recipe for Buttermilk Red Velvet from Joy the Baker, using less red food coloring and doubling the amount of vanilla; it was fluffy and moist, not to mention hot pink!!

I frosted the cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting which Joy frequently pairs with Red Velvet Cake and I am in full support of that marriage. Yum!

Edible glitter and sprinkles adorn the frosting and finally, the cupcakes are topped with cut-out hearts of rolled fondant. The baby's name is hand painted onto the hearts with food coloring. Voila.


Long after these cupcakes were consumed at the baby shower and the leftover frosting eaten with a spoon, I happened upon foodbeam's Sugar High Friday event: Cupcakes, the final chapter.
(You can read more about the SHF, the 'international sweet tooth blogging extravaganza' here)

It crossed my mind to submit these cupcakes, but then told myself, naw, who am I kidding? It's Fanny, for pete's sake! I didn't even get to do an official photo shoot for the cupcakes, what you see was snapped at the shower while I ignored Mateo's complaining from his car seat in the corner. (Bad mother) There was no way I could send my insanely pink baby girl cupcakes in response to her call for "delicious cupcakes, baked with flair, sophistication and novelty'.

But then I kept reading Fanny's post and somewhere in it she said 'most importantly, have fun', and that's precisely what I did with these cupcakes. I mean, edible sprinkles and light pink fondant? I had a blast.
So be sure to check out foodbeam.com at the end of the month for the round-up of cupcakes, and please, go easy on my entry, okay?


Here are the recipes if you are interested in making your own really pink cupcakes.

Buttermilk Pink Velvet Cupcakes

8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temp

1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temp

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 Tablespoons Red Food coloring

1. Preheat the oven to 325. Sift together flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add the kosher salt after sifting and set aside. Measure out the buttermilk and red food coloring. Add the dye to the buttermilk for easier incorporation later.

2. Cream the butter and the sugar using an electric mixer, until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, letting the eggs beat for 1 mintue in between additions. Scrape down the bowl in between additions. Add vanilla and beat well.

3. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the wet ingredients. Start by adding one third of the flour mixture. Mix just to incorporate. Add half of the buttermilk. Add another one third of the flour mixture. Mix to incorporate. Add the last half of buttermilk, followed by the last third of flour.

4. Spoon into paper lined cupcake pans. Check the cupcakes after 12 minutes.

Makes 16 small or 12 large cupcakes.

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

1 1/2 cups butter, softened

8oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of salt

4-6 cups powdered sugar

2-4 tablespoons milk depending on desired consistency

Cream the cream cheese in an electric mixer for 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl and add the butter, beating for 1-2 minutes, or until incorporated. (Be sure that the two are at room temperature. Cold cream cheese or butter can make your frosting lumpy.) Add the brown sugar, pinch of salt and vanilla extract, and beat until incorporated. Turn off mixer and add 2 cups of powdered sugar. Turn the mixer on a low speed so the sugar doesn’t fly out of the bowl. Slowly add more sugar alternately with the milk until you reach your desired consistency.

Cookies and Company

If your December "To Do" list is anything like mine, you’ll find yourself scratching your head and wondering how you can possibly get everything done in the allotted time. Everywhere you look there is a countdown to Christmas, taunting you and reminding you that you are going to have to exercise some super powers to wrap up your list.

However, readers of Under the High Chair may remember last year’s cookie swap, which presented my sweet-toothed friends a fun, practical, and time-saving way to shorten their long list of baking and freezing by coming together to exchange baked goods. Just prepare one kind of cookie in massive quantities, bring them to the swap, and leave with an beautiful assortment of holiday baking worthy of your finest tea tray, like this GQ gingerbread man.

Last year's exchange was such a hit, we knew we had to do it again; this year the bar was set even higher...

Hardly anyone declined the invitation and on a chilly Sunday afternoon, cars lined the snowbanks along our quiet street and ten girls (not to mention a journalist and photographer from Montreal's major English newspaper, but we'll get to that) swarmed my kitchen, burdening my kitchen table with armloads of cookies. We did a rough estimate and figured we probably had about 1200 cookies and squares: enough to make the pulse quicken of any foodie or sweet-lover.

The menu was indeed impressive:

Grandma Fisher's Sandwich Cookies
Cranberry, Pecan and White Chocolate Cookies
Marshmallow Squares
Brownies
Mayan Chocolate Sparklers
Raspberry Swirls
Butter Pecan Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Aimee's Spice Snaps
Noir Bars
Double Chocolate Cookies
Gingerbread Men

While we valiantly did our best to sample all the cookies brought (only a few were successful), the charming Susan Schwartz from the Montreal Gazette quizzed us on the recipe to a winning cookie swap, and a bona fide photographer (not a wannabe like me) documented the event and the pretty cookies.

You can read her kind and enjoyable article here and file away the 6 or 7 cookie recipes included on the same page for your future use. They are all tried and true and worthy of your holiday baking repertoire.

Little Noah's picture made it into the newspaper, and he looks quite adorable, if a little sleepy, as he had just woken up from his afternoon nap.
If only we could all wake up more often to a warm home brimming with fresh, homemade cookies, what a happier place the world would be!

Pecan Butter Cookies
Makes about 50 cookies

This recipe comes from my friend Liz Leon, a Montreal pastry chef and super mom of twin toddlers.

1 cup (250 mL) pecans
1/2 pound (225 g) butter, softened
Pinch salt
1/2 cup (125 mL) icing sugar
1 teaspoon (5mL) vanilla
2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour

Toast pecans carefully in a non-stick frying pan, tossing constantly so they don’t burn. Cool completely, then finely chop.
Beat together butter, salt, icing sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Add the pecans gradually. Then sift the flour over the mixture and stir to blend well together. Roll into 1-inch (2.5 cm) balls and place them on a cookie sheet about an inch (2.5 cm) apart. Press a half a pecan into the center a bit with thumb to flatten a bit.
Bake at 350F (180 C) for 12 to 15 minutes.
Once cookies are out of the oven, let them stand until they become slightly firm. Then transfer cookies to racks to cool completely. Coat with icing sugar.

Psst! It's Fruitcake Time!

Around here the Christmas parties get started as early as the first weekend in December. I always like to have baking on hand - like homemade fruitcake - to serve to guests in my home or to bring as a gift for the hostess if we are going out. Consider this a friendly reminder to get your fruitcake started! A month is the minimum recommended time for allowing it to age, which means it's time to start cracking nuts and chopping fruit.


I am no fruitcake expert (have you ever seen it on a menu?). I have no family recipe that has been passed down from generation to generation, no great culinary mentor who whispered me his secret recipe on his deathbed, just my own curiosity and eagerness to try a few recipes until I find one I like. Maybe once I do, I will play around with it until I am truly happy with it and then I will have a recipe to pass on to my children. (Note: if you have a truly stellar recipe, feel free to send it my way via email)

I chose this first recipe (Yes, first! I indeed have not one but two beautiful fruitcakes fermenting in the deep, dark recesses of my pantry) because I love dried figs and figs make up the sticky base of this interesting no-bake fruitcake. I can not vouch for it's taste yet, but I will be sure to keep you posted when I tuck into it come mid-December. Of course, by then it will be too late for you to whip up a batch for Christmas Eve, but if it really looks too good to be missed, and your holiday won't be merry without some, drop me a note and I'll ship some out to you. The recipe makes a very large batch!

If the figs don't do it for you, consider a few of the other ingredients rolled into this mosaic confection: Dark chocolate, toasted walnuts, golden raisins and pungent spices, all doused with a hefty shot of brandy, swaddled in cheesecloth and hidden away so the flavors meld.

I am hoping to convert some fruitcake atheists and make them true believers with this figgy concoction. We'll see.
At the very least, maybe I can help polish up the fruitcake's sadly tarnish reputation.

Figgy Christmas Fruit Roll

(adapted from MS Living Holiday 2000)

12 oz (3 ¼ cups) walnuts
4 ½ lbs (about 10 cups) dried figs
3 oz (½) cup currants
4 oz (3/4 cup) golden raisins
6 oz (1 cup) candied citrus peel, roughly chopped
7 oz buttersweet chocolate, chopped into ¼ inch pieces
5oz (1 cup) pistachios
6 Tablespoons brandy, plus more for sprinkling
2 tablespoons anise flavouring
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Confectioners sugar, for dusting
Cheesecloth for wrapping
Parchment paper
Kitchen twine

Heat oven to 350F. Spread walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast in oven until walnuts are just fragrant, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely. Roughly chop walnuts.

Working is small batches, place figs in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely minced. Transfer figs to a large bowl and add walnuts. Add currants, golden raisins, citrus peel, chocolate, pistachios, 2 tablespoons brandy, anise flavoring, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and salt, and mix well, using your hands works best!

Divide mixture into four equal parts. Dust a clean work surface with confectioner’s sugar and dust your hands as well. Gently mold each part into a log and then roll to smooth edges. You should have a cylindrical log about 2 inches in diameter and 12 inches long.

Gently brush off excess sugar with a pastry brush and place on a rectangle of cheesecloth large enough to wrap the log around. Brush each log with 1 tablespoon brandy, wrap well in cheesecloth and tie ends with kitchen twine. Roll logs in parchment, sealing the ends again with twine and place in a cool dark place.
Once a week for at least a month, remove parchment and sprinkle cheesecloth with brandy. Wrap well in parchment and store until ready to serve. Slice rolls into thin rounds to serve.

Makes four 12 inch rolls.

Thankful for...Raspberry Rhubarb Pie and More

Some of you may be aware that Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Canadian Thanksgiving, that is, as we celebrate it a month earlier than the USA. There is always so much to be thankful for and this year is no exception…health, family and friends, a baby on the way, and of course, great food!


I love this fall holiday; we enjoy a lot of the same great food as we do at Christmas, but experience little of the rush and hectic pace of those days surrounding Noel…
This year I am not doing my own grandiose dinner, but rather collaborating on two different events-one with family and one with friends.
However in most Canadian homes you will find menus that center around a roast turkey, cranberry sauce, probably a stuffing, mashed potatoes, autumn vegetables…and-most importantly-PIES!

Mini Apple-Raspberry Pies

Early on in my childhood years, my parents realized that I had a passion for food and cooking. I mean how else can you explain the gift of a beautiful pie cookbook for my 11^th birthday from them? I spent many a happy hour rolling pie dough and trying new fillings, some of them successful, and some of them failures.
Perhaps it was all that early practice that sparked my love of pies and so for me, Thanksgiving is largely about these special, fruity tarts.
So now, even though I have pumpkin roasting for the must-have Pumpkin Pies, cranberries on the shopping list for my traditional Cranberry-Orange Pie, and things set in motion for a few dozen Butter Tarts, I wanted to use up what I have in my garden for a seasonal pie. Most of my small plots have been turned over for the winter but the rhubarb is hanging in there and my raspberries have decided to renew their efforts and produce a second crop of berries. I couldn’t be happier! (maybe this is normal for raspberries, I don’t know, but when I finished harvesting in July, I thought I had seen the last of them.)
So this pie is showcasing these fall fruits fresh from my garden and the flavors did not disappoint. I love a tart pie!
For the top I had a bit of fun and cut little baby turkeys out of the dough with a cookie cutter and partially covered the filling. They looked a little less recognizable when they came of of the oven, but tasted yummy anyway!
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Rhubarb Raspberry Pie

6 cups chopped rhubarb
1 pint fresh raspberries
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon cream
double crust pie dough

Roll out bottom pie crush and mold into pan. Chill 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Beat egg yolk and cream together, set aside.
Toss rhubarb, sugar, cornstarch, and salt together until well coated. Gently add raspberries to mixture. Heap up into chilled pie shell and dot with butter. Roll out top pie crust and make desired designs with it (lattice, etc). Cover pie filling with the pot crust, crimp edges and brush with egg mixture.
Bake until crust is golden brown and juices run from the rhubarb. Cool at room temperature. Chill before serving.
Lovely with vanilla ice cream!